Bob Cassidy products: page 3

He looks beyond the appearances and facades that disguise reality and finds the truth. He is The Schattenjaeger - the hunter of shadows - and he invites you to join him.

Partial Contents include:

• Vision Quest - A spectator thinks of the name of a dead celebrity and gazes into a glass of water flanked by two candles. Suddenly, a ghostly image of the celebrity appears below the surface of the liquid and peers upward at the volunteer.
• The Jam Readings - A Jazz Q and A routine based on a unique and virtually self-working mass billet switch. The Schattenjaeger observes, "If they could see...

Rules are meant to be followed - most of the time. The Heresies are those effects that break every rule of mentalism and become even more powerful for it. Perhaps it's just the contrast - but as you will discover in this exclusive ebook - it's much, much more.

1st edition 2003; 25 pages.

"The Dream" is a routine that is best performed before smaller audiences or in an impromptu setting. The key principles, though, have great utilitarian value and should find use in many of your presentations.

The basic idea evolved from an old card routine by Stewart Judah. [Don't go away yet, the finished routine can hardly be considered a "card trick".] It was the type of effect that has fallen out of fashion lately due to the amount of dealing and counting involved. It struck Bob, though, that the dealing was acceptable if the effect was presented as a type of card game. But while the card game presentation was natural and deceptive, it was hardly earth shaking and...

A spectator loads a dart into a regulation pellet/dart pistol and fires it at a target ten feet away. The performer is blindfolded and stands in front of the target. He rolls up his right sleeve and puts his open right hand (palm toward the spectator) directly in front of his face.

On the count of three, the spectator fires the pistol at the performer's open (and clearly empty) hand. The performer's hand clenches shut and is slowly opened to reveal the dart. At no time does his hand move from its position in front of his body, nor is it approached by the other hand.

(If desired, the mentalist...

A unique effect. The performer produces - or borrows - a crossword puzzle magazine of the type commonly found in any supermarket. A spectator opens it anywhere and concentrates on any clue. The mentalist not only reveals the clue, but its definition as well. Unlike any other crossword effect you may have seen - and completely unbelievable!

1st edition 2003; 17 pages.

Twenty years have passed since Bob wrote The Art of Mentalism. He was thirty-four years old at the time. While he is pleased that the book has been well received over the years, much of what he wrote no longer accurately reflects his approach to the art.

In The Art of Mentalism 2 (1995), he focused primarily on the presentation of a complete mental act. In the present volume, Bob gives you effects and essays that focus on the theoretical basis of successful mentalism.

1st edition 2003; 25 pages

Joseph Dunninger has often been credited with saying. "Every time you add a prop to your act your price goes down." His reasoning should be obvious - every additional prop takes the illusion one step away from what "real mind reading" would look like. And, as Bob has noted many times in his previous ebooks, every additional type of mentalism you demonstrate (apparent telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, clairvoyance, etc.) also detracts from the overall illusion.

Recently a "mentalist" challenged Bob on this point: "How entertaining is it to demonstrate the same ability over and over again? It is much...

The companion volume to Staging It, this exclusive ebook for mentalists is devoted to audience handling. Bob has probably worked for the most difficult audiences in the world and this ebook reveals the techniques he has used that have enabled him to be successful in virtually any conceivable venue.

This, Bob believes, is among the ebooks he has written that he considers most important for those looking to succeed in the world of professional psychic entertainment.

1st edition 2004; 25 pages

The Corvus Manifesto - a thought provoking essay by Bob.

The Photon Phenomenon - A low cost way to achieve an impressive visual effect. This is typical Cassidy brilliance. Imagine. You are on stage and have just asked the audience to concentrate on their thoughts. The houselights dim and, suddenly, your face is illuminated in an eerie glow. No doubt it is effective showmanship, but you would normally assume that a special lighting effect like this requires, well, special lighting. It doesn’t.

Dark Impressions - Those of you who are familiar with Bob's previous writings are well acquainted...

One of the inherent difficulties in presenting effective mentalism is that it generally lacks the element of surprise. The performer states that he will read a thought and proceeds to do so. He says he will predict tomorrow’s headlines and he does. Many would-be mentalists infallibly demonstrate so many different alleged mental powers that the element of believability is lacking as well.

By applying the "Side Effects" principle, the element of surprise is returned to the art and variety is introduced into a performance without sacrificing believability. Bob's good friend Ross Johnson, one...

There is no argument about the dilemma faced by many newcomers to mentalism. Are mental effects best presented as natural phenomena of the mind, or as examples of rare paranormal or supernatural abilities?

Most of today's mentalists use the "mental skill" as opposed to the "psychic gift" approach, but only rarely are they particularly consistent about it. Even Joseph Dunninger, the pre-eminent mentalist of the twentieth century, sometimes made conflicting claims. While he stated that his thought reading skills were "scientific" and not those of a fortune-teller or psychic, his promotional materials often...

The "Swami Gimmick", aka "Nail Writer", "Thumb Writer", "Ghost Writer", "Medium's Secret Device", et al, has often been referred to as one of the most useful secret devices in mentalism. And it is - provided, of course, that no one knows the mentalist is using one.

While the existence of the Swami may be widely known, very few performers actually use one on a regular basis and even fewer have truly mastered the device. Used properly, even those who have heard of a nail writer (or "that little piece of lead under the thumbnail"), will have no idea that the mentalist is using one.

In Swami...

You will learn the following effects:

• The Zener Effect
• The Black Book of Light & Dr. Crow’s Post Box Prediction
• The Medium’s “Office Switch”
• The Juice
• Dr. Crow’s Billet Routine

The premise of Hanussen's Proof, and Bob's search for an effective method, were inspired by an event that took place in the spring of 1930. The mentalist/psychic Erik Jan Hanussen was indicted and tried on charges of criminal fraud arising from a public demonstration of alleged "clairvoyance". As the trial neared its conclusion and the evidence against Hanussen grew, he concluded that his only chance of acquittal would be to demonstrate his ability to the court. His offer of proof was accepted, and, under the watchful eyes of the judge and prosecutor, the demonstration proceeded.

Hanussen asked his inquisitors...

Everything you need to know about pendulums:

• The Principle of Ideomotor Movement
• Dowsing with Pendulums
• Using the Pendulum in Mentalism
• The Horizontal Pendulum
• Mikame Blue
• Flipchips
• A Rat in the Desert

[For beautiful pendulums and other resources for the mentalist visit Magic Pendulums.]

History - "Laboratory Conditions" - Bob's first commercial effect - was originally released in 1976 by Frank Pazel. Supplied with the effect were two pieces of plexiglas, rubber bands, some aluminum foil and a specially gimmicked pen. Except for the foil, none of the other items were necessary to accomplish the effect, but Frank felt that the effect wouldn't sell unless it came with props.

The late Ed Mishell gave the effect a very favorable review in Genii magazine - but, then again, Ed gave favorable reviews to just about everything. That, together with the fact that nobody in the magic world...

You will learn five things:

• The Circle of Synchronicity
• The Vision
• The Third Method
• Doctor Crow’s Deck Switch
• Doctor Crow’s Complete Reading System

In Appendix One of The Real Work of Cold Reading Bob included a cursory overview of a numerological system that could also be applied to the tarot or to regular playing cards. In The Psychic Tarot he has expanded on that and provided a detailed system of interpretation that will be accepted by those who have a general familiarity with the cards. As suggested in The Real Work of Cold Reading, the interpretations of the individual cards are derived - with the exception of the Major Arcana - by combining the general meanings assigned to the cards' suits with the numerological meanings assigned to their values. This is not only simpler and more practical...

Secrets of the billet king as told to the author.

Most modern mentalists were first introduced to billet technique in the pages of Theodore Annemann's Practical Mental Effects, which describes a single-handed switch, a two-handed version, and variations with a thumb tip. The techniques are very effective, but require a good deal of practice and careful handling to perform undetectably.

The Moldavian Switch is a technique that effectively removes the "difficulty factor" from billet work. With its several variations it can be used to present any of the many billet routines and effects published during the last hundred years. You...

The Universe focuses upon one primary method, indexing, and several of its applications. While the effects all appear to be different from an audience’s perspective, they are, in fact, all variations upon the same methodological theme.

1st edition 2005; 27 pages

This exclusive release describes in detail a complete 90 minutes mentalism/hypnosis program, and includes all of the information you will need to make it a feature presentation in your own work. Includes:

• The Mentalism Lead in - the Hows and Whys
• Induction
• Routines
• Innovative Techniques
• And more ...
• 10 MP3 sound files

Brad Henderson taught it to Dance. Kross put it Into the Deep Freeze and Herb Dewey made it Red Hot. In The Real Work of Cold Reading Cassidy makes it explosive and blows it into another dimension.

A good deal of what has been written about cold reading is theoretically and practically wrong and/or misinformed.

Learn the 'real work' in this exclusive ebook.

1st edition 2004; 58 pages

"I consider this my best and most favorite ebook I ever wrote." - Bob Cassidy

The foundations of mentalism. Acclaimed as "a definitive resource for all who are interested in mentalism and probably for most in magic generally." Bob's list of 39 most important books to read, which is included in this ebook, is by itself hugely valuable, because you not only get a list of books but the reasons why each one of them is so important. This allows you to judge for yourself if you should read a particular book or not. Fundamentals can be seen as Bob's extraction of the most important concepts from...

Bob is a professional mentalist with a unique humorous style. In this limited edition ebook he shares his approach to mentalism in his 'Principia Mentalia' - a work in four parts: fire, earth, air and water. You will also find a recording of a radio talk show where Bob is the celebrity guest, running 13.5 minutes. And the complete recording of his appearance on KOMO-TV's "Northwest Afternoon", 22 minutes long, is included as well. Particularly these two recordings will show you Bob Cassidy's unique style. Also included is his very interesting Art of Mentalism 2 ebook. On top of it you will find...